The Scottish separatists of the SNP claimed to have a majority in favor of a separation from the United Kingdom in the local parliament, forcing London to accept the new self-determination referendum rejected by Boris Johnson.
Two days after “super-Thursday” local elections in the United Kingdom, the results are gradually coming. In England, they are so far positive for the ruling Tories, who have gained ground in the deindustrialised (and Brexit-won) regions of the North and even conquered the Labor stronghold of Hartlepool, which had always voted Labor in nearly fifty years.
In Scotland, on the other hand, the Tories are in the minority against the independence party SNP, of the popular Scottish Prime Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, which has consolidated its base, even if the formation seems on the verge of narrowly missing the absolute majority it coveted. According to the results of 71 constituencies, given Saturday around 6 p.m., the SNP was winning in 60 of them. The BBC projects that the party will ultimately win 63 seats, narrowly missing its target of 65 out of 129 seats in Holyrood’s parliament.
“It seems there is no doubt [sur le fait] that there will be a pro-independence majority in this Scottish Parliament ”, welcomed Nicola Sturgeon on the Sky News television channel, alluding to the Greens, who are in favor of a self-determination referendum. Then speaking to her supporters, she assured that there was “Simply no democratic justification for Boris Johnson or anyone else to seek to block the right of the Scottish people to choose their own future”.
“It is the will of this country”, she hammered, warning that any attempt by the Conservatives to block the organization of a new vote would place them “In direct opposition to the will of the Scottish people and would demonstrate that the UK is not a partnership of equals”.
Boris Johnson, who has the last word on whether or not to authorize this referendum, strongly opposes it, believing that such a consultation cannot happen “Once per generation”. In the 2014 referendum, 55% of voters rejected independence. “A referendum in the current context is irresponsible and reckless”, repeated the British Prime Minister to the daily the Telegraph.
A test for Boris Johnson
However, the SNP believes that Brexit has been a game-changer, with the Scots voting 62% to stay in the European Union. This party is heading for a fourth consecutive term and can congratulate itself on having dismissed the threat of Alba, a rival independence party created by Alex Salmond, former prime minister and former leader of the SNP. Alba should not get any seats, admitted its founder.
On Twitter, Nicola Sturgeon wanted to greet a “Important moment”, namely the election in the Glasgow Kelvin constituency of Kaukab Stewart (SNP), which becomes “The first woman of color to be elected to the Scottish Parliament”.
In the rest of the UK, Thursday’s elections, the first ballot since the Conservatives’ landslide victory in the 2019 legislative elections – but also since Brexit – were a test for Boris Johnson’s government as well as for the opposition, which seeks to rebuild itself.
The Labor Party is in deep soul-searching after Hartlepool’s scathing defeat, which left party leader Keir Starmer with “Bitterly disappointed”. Called for questioning, he promised he would do “All that is in its possible” to regain the confidence of voters, without announcing specific measures.
Favorite Sadiq Khan in London
Labor can, however, boast very good results in Wales, where the Welsh Labor Party obtains 30 of the 60 seats in the local Parliament, against 16 for the Tories, which allows it to remain in power.
In the north of England, Labor Joanne Anderson, 47, is the first black woman to be elected mayor of Liverpool. Labor also recorded important electoral victories in Greater Manchester and the Liverpool area.
In London, Labor Sadiq Khan, who in 2016 became the first Muslim mayor of a large western capital, is favored for a second term against his main opponent, the conservative Shaun Bailey, but the results, expected on Saturday night, are announce tighter than expected.
